How To Start a Blog – Beginner’s Guide for 2018

But…how the heck do you get started? There’s so much info out there on the web, and everyone’s telling you to do different things. Who do you listen to? Where’s the starting point?

Damnit, maybe you should just forget it – it’s too confusing!

Well, hold up. I used to be a blogging newbie too. I had the same problems. I started my blog (BloggingBasics101.com) way back in 2006, and I knew less than nothing about blogging. In fact it was only the week before I’d learnt what a blog was.

Now I know a ton about them, and my blog’s doing pretty well – I receive more than 300,000 unique visitors per month which makes me consider myself someone you could listen to and learn from when it comes to building your own blog. I’m not some sort of Guru, but I certainly do know the basics.

Why you should create a blog and join the blogging community

So below, I’m going to outline exactly what you need to do to get started and set up your own personal blog. Before we dive in though, I really want to talk about WHY you should build a blog.

Note: If you already have a solid idea of the whys, then skip this and go right ahead with the guide.

Blogging has quickly become one of the most popular ways of communicating and spreading information and news. There are literally millions of blogs online (don’t worry, you can make yours stand out and get noticed!).

It’s a great way to express yourself and also a fantastic way to share information with others.

You become a better person and a better writer.

The best reason? You can make money doing it!

I bet you already knew all of that, but it’s nice to be reminded.

One very last thing before we get started:

Creating your own blog can take a little while, probably up to 30 minutes. So grab yourself a coffee or juice (whatever you fancy) and let’s get stuck in. If you need any help during the set-up process, get in touch with me here and I’ll help as best I can and answer any questions you might have).

Disclosure: This guide to starting your own blog contains some affiliate links. If you purchase a service through one of these links I may earn a small commission, this is at no extra cost to you.

The Steps Covered In This Blogging Guide

It’s nowhere near as difficult as setting up a website from scratch (there’s very little technical ability needed here). In fact, there’s no coding required by you. Good news, huh?

How to Start a Blog in 5 Steps:

There’s five main steps you need to do in order to start a blog. If you follow this guide exactly, you’ll have your own blog set up in 30 minutes or less.

Choose a great blog platform

Choose a web host for your blog

How to Set up a blog on your own domain

Design your new blog

Useful resources for blogging

So, we made it. Phew. Better late than never! So, without further ado, let’s jump into step 1.

Step 1 – Choose your preferred blogging platform

Choosing where you want to build blog is pretty much the first thing you have to do. I’m going to take a leap and assume you’ve heard of WordPress, and this is the platform I advocate. It’s massive.

It’s by far one of the biggest blogging platforms in the world, with countless plugins and add-ons and almost infinite ways to design and layout your blog.

There are more than 82 million active users of WordPress = a lot, basically.

Step 2 – Self-hosting or a free alternative?

Whoa, slow down there! This is the biggest decision you’ll have to make before we go any further. You need to decide whether to pay for your blog or grab a free one.

WordPress, Tumblr and Blogger all offer free blogs for anyone. Awesome, right? It’s perfect for those of us who aren’t super serious about blogging. But it does have downsides:

1) You won’t be able to get your OWN domain name

On a free blog, your blog’s web address (your URL) will be butt-ugly. Like, really ugly. In short, create a free blog with any other the above free blog services and it’ll look like this:

yourblog.wordpress.com

yourblog.blogspot.com

yourblog.tumblr.com

I know, ugly right?

2) Limits and more limits

There are some limits to free blogs. You can’t fully monetize it, and you don’t have the possibility to upload all those videos and images you want to show everyone – it’s all limited. Worse still, you won’t even have access to the free themes offered by WordPress.

3) You DON’T OWN your blog

It might sound silly at first, but you don’t actually own your blog. It’s hosted on someone else’s web property and they can delete it if they want so. They have done so in the past, and keep doing it in the future. Which means all your hard work on your blog, all those countless hours of writing blog posts might be vanished within seconds. Sad…

On the other hand, with a self-hosted blog on your own domain name – you are the REAL owner of your blog. You’ll be able to name your blog whatever you want, for example “YourName.com” or “YourAwesomeBlog.com. You can end it with .com, .co.uk, .net, .org, or virtually any other web suffix. Add to that unlimited bandwidth for videos, images and content plus the free themes and you have a winning combo.

So how much is hosting and a domain name? Not as much as you’re thinking, fortunately. It usually works out to about $5 to $10 per month, depending on your hosting provider which is less than a couple of coffees.

If you still have questions, here’s some further information for you to look at:

Step 3 – Start a blog on your own domain (if you chose self-hosting and a custom domain)

I’m going to push ahead based on the premise you’ve chosen WordPress, and if you haven’t, you should. Seriously, it’s the best.

If you’re still a little confused by what a self-hosted blog is, allow me to explain and how you can go about setting one up for yourself.

You’ll need to come up with a domain name you like and also choose a hosting company that can host your blog.

Domain: The domain is basically the URL of your website. Examples: google.com (Google.com is the domain), Facebook.com (Facebook.com is the domain). See? Simple!

Hosting: Hosting is basically the company that puts your website up on the internet so everyone else can see it. Everything will be saved on there. Think of it as a computer hard-drive on the internet where your blog will be saved.

Personally, I use Just Host (for my blog domain and hosting), and I’ve got nothing but good things to say about it. It’s probably one of the cheapest (less than $3 per month) hosting providers out there. A domain name will cost around $10-15 a year, but with Just Host they throw that in for free :). Big smiles for that! They’re the providers I use for all of my blogs, including the one you’re reading right now.

If for any reason you don’t want to go with Just Host, feel free to choose your own hosting company. Most, if not all of them, should have a “one-click” WordPress install solution on their admin panel.

That button will automatically install WordPress on your blog. Did I say it was simple or what?

All you need to do is sign up with Just Host (or your chosen provider), choose your hosting plan and a domain name and look for the one-click WordPress install button on the admin panel.

WordPress essentials aren’t often needed, but I’d recommend whois privacy (that will keep all your personal details private) and definitely automated backups (this’ll save your website just in case anything fails or disappears, so you won’t lose any or very little of your blog).

Once WordPress is installed on your website, all you have to do to start blogging is go to your WP-Admin page usually www.yourblognamehere.com/wp-admin and start writing by adding a new post.

At the start, the layout looks confusing, but it gets very understandable quickly. Don’t worry!

Step 4 – Designing your WordPress blog

Now, the fun bit.

Let’s make your blog look exactly how you want it to. To choose a new theme, you can either head to Appearance > Themes and install a free WordPress theme or you can head to a premium theme website like ThemeForest.net and buy a theme for around $40.

I usually choose something that looks professional and pretty easy to customise. WordPress also has this awesome feature that allows you to change themes with just a few clicks. So if you start getting tired of your current blog template, you can just switch to another one without losing any precious content or images.

Remember, your blog’s design should reflect both you and your personality, but also what the blog is about. There’s no point having a football-orientated theme if your blog is about tennis, understand?

On top of that, it should be easy to navigate if you want people to stick around. If it’s tricky and difficult to move around it, people won’t stay. Design is a subjective art; meaning everyone likes different things.

But no one likes ugly websites, and they especially hate websites that need a university degree to navigate. Make it easy for them.

For more reading, I’ve put together 3 blog posts about designing your blog. Feel free to check them through.

Step 5 – Useful Resources For Beginner Bloggers

Bloggers come to blogging arena with varying degrees of online and social media experience, but we’ve all made more than a few newbie mistakes – there’s always room for more learning and improvement, whether you’re a beginner or you’ve been blogging for years.

These articles may help you avoid some of the growing pains when it comes to your first blog – enjoy!:

And that’s it! I’m more than confident that your initial blog set up should now be finished and ready to go, and all that should have been really damn easy (unlike my first time, lucky you!). If you are having any problems installing WordPress on Just Host then this guide may help.

If by some unfortunate circumstance you get stuck or have any questions for me about how to create a blog, just get in touch with me or leave a comment below. I’ll help you out with any problems.

The best thing I ever did to get traffic was to promote my early blog posts on social media (Twitter/Facebook) and forums I was a member of… Once your blog has been around a few months you will start to see some trickles of traffic from search engines.

MollyJune 11, 2015 / 10:49 am

Very informative! I’m totally stoked to get started! Thank you so much for making it so simple.

Mansi PatelFebruary 13, 2016 / 9:58 am

Wow I just loved your article on the beginners guide to starting a blog. I want to start one and I am now pretty clear after reading this post. This was very helpful for me and I am definitely going to mention you in my blog as soon as I start it. Thanks you so much. 🙂

Be sure to send me a link to your blog once you are all set-up I love seeing what people who have followed my guide go on to do!

-Jess 😀

Beatrice lipizzanerMarch 3, 2016 / 2:39 am

Thanks alot its been helpful to me

Suraj KokneJuly 22, 2016 / 4:20 am

This is really helpful hope this will help me to create my own blog.

Jane98dJuly 27, 2016 / 8:56 pm

Very informative and easy to understand thanks! 🙂

laletiAugust 20, 2016 / 10:26 am

thanks so much, hope this helps me to set up my own blog. i need help to make it function well

DIVESH CHADHANovember 22, 2016 / 6:35 am

Thanks, Jessica!
In a few days, I’m going to start my own blog.

Seriously Thank you very much!!

Robert HyltonMarch 9, 2017 / 10:08 pm

Hi there, very informative but just to be clear I do have my own website and domain names so do I just have to install word press and crack on from there.
Thanks.

Natalie CornuMarch 15, 2017 / 6:49 pm

I just began my own blog so this was very helpful to me. Thank you for sharing!

Kevin DoranMarch 12, 2018 / 1:55 pm

Thanks, I’m 59 years old and at a point in my life that I believe I’m starting to understand the meaning of life. Though this understanding is still in its infancy I think I’m ready to start asking some questions. Is it plausible to have a Blog that explores is subject matter and do you think it would be interesting to others. I’ve not written anything since high school but on my way home from work I had a Moment of clarity and then this idea thank you for your time.

Thank you so much for your insight. Starting a blog, writing and sharing information is something about which I have been thoughtful for a while. Reading this was such a breath of fresh air. Can’t wait to start my own blog! Thanks again 🙂

RyanNovember 6, 2014 / 7:46 am

Thanks for this article. By the way, would it be okay if I start blogging with a free account and decide later on hosting the blog? Will the transition be easy enough to migrate from a free account to a paid one? Hope you could shed light on the query. Thank you.

If you go with WordPress.com – then yeah, you can make the switch later on. It isn’t much complicated 🙂
But if you are thinking seriously about starting a blog then I suggest you to try the self-hosted option. It’s much more better.
Jessica

This is very useful information for me as a beginner blogger. I figured to try blogging as a project while working on my MBA program online this year. I haven’t finished publishing my blog site yet. Still checking out some tips and advice prior to publishing. A bit nervous but after reading other new bloggers helps build my confidence. Hopefully I get the nerves to publish by end of January. As you mentioned, I ended up using WordPress.

Is there ways to change things like your blog name or domain name? I m considering starting a blog but I am not sure what I want to do it on just yet. I have many passions but I need to decide if/how I want to do the whole blogging thing lol.

You can change your blog any time you want. However, you won’t be able to change a domain name – only if you buy another one. So choose wisely 🙂
Jess

LaurenJanuary 10, 2015 / 8:35 pm

Help! I have a question..
When signing up for a wordpress blog account, a user has the option to self-host..
Do I choose this or do I go to Just Host to start up my domain and blog? I’m a bit confused about this

Great question! I suggest you to install WordPress via iPage because if you decide to go self-hosted directly from WordPress.com – it will cost a lot more. That’s the main reason I’m suggest people Just Host (to save some money).
Jess

I am very new to all of this and was wondering if you could explain to me how the money is earned? Say for instance I set up a blog and start blogging how do you earn from it and “who” is cutting the checks, and how often are you paid?

This is the most helpful and simple guide to blogging i have come across. Thanks a lot! I am very new to blogging and also very curious about how to earn money from blogging. I am looking forward to your post about this.

Hi, so I’ve been thinking about writing a book about my personal experience with adultery and how this was the worst mistake I’ve ever made and I have made many. In June 2008 my now ex wife became pregenant with our second child but the previous month she introduced me to Facebook. That was the beginning of the end. To make a long story short my ex wife and a woman I met on Facebook both gave birth to my 2 daughters 51 days apart. The blog I want to start will hopefully help other men not be as self destructive as myself.

Yes, you can do that if you got a free WordPress.com solution. However, if you are serious about blogging, it’s wise to start off with a self-hosted option right away 🙂
Jess

Kobina, Apam, GhanaMay 20, 2015 / 1:54 am

Useful info for me. I’ve been contemplating about blogging for a long time and I think it’s time I start. My problem is how to promote my blog. Is it possible to link my blog to social media so all blog posts are automatically posted on my social media pages?

Really great information, Jessica. Thank you so much.
I’m planning to start a blog and your advice will come in very handy.
Just one question: Can you sell ad space on a self-hosted WordPress blog? If not, which route would you suggest to go for someone who would be interested in selling ad space on their blog?

No, copy pasting will help you in no way. Avoid copy pasting at all costs because it seems like it is your content when all you do is copy paste, and if you want to refer to some other blog post, copy paste the content and give them proper credit by adding their blog post link in the end. 🙂 Good luck!

It was interesting to see the diagram wheel picture in tip one with all the different domains that are used. Self-hosted WordPress seems to be the most popular. Do you think it has to do with how you can customize it the way you want the most compared to the other domains? I’m wanting to start my blog of dancing. I sincerely appreciate all of these additional ideas to get my blog started!

Thank you for the info on blogging. I would like to apply it to my website and have a question.

When I try to install WordPress, I am told that my files will be overwritten. What exactly does this mean? Will WordPress code simply be inserted into my code (html), leaving the code otherwise intact so that my pages will be displayed as before (but now with blogging capability)? Or is there more to it?

By default – it has “index.html” placed in your root domain folder. If you overwrite it – it’ll disappear and be replaced with the WordPress index file. So basically, you just need to overwrite it.

Jess

gretchenApril 7, 2015 / 6:36 pm

Hi. Thank you for your informative post. I’m still looking for the best (least expensive or free) value to use my own domain (not with wordpress.com or the like in the domain name). If you’ve included this information somewhere, I have missed it. I also didn’t see it on the comparison chart? I’m sure it’s probably there, but maybe worded differently…?
Thank you again.

You can use your own domain name on a platform such as Tumblr for free but as you are on their platform you will be restricted to the types of content you can produce, the types of advertisements you can host and it is difficult to move to a self hosted WordPress environment later down the line.

In this guide I recommend Just Host hosting for beginner bloggers as it only costs a a few dollars per month and gives you more control over your blog, how you can make money and it’s future.

-J

FaithyApril 8, 2015 / 12:26 pm

Very Informative! great! 🙂
I’ve been thinking this past few months to start my own blog.
My problem is, I am not really good in English that’s why I am hesitating to start blogging.

Thanks for the good tips. I’m a newbie and haven’t started my blog yet; just reading about the basics right now. Wondering if there is a way to keep it private so it’s not accessible to the general public, but only to those who you send the link? Thanks

Hi, thanks for this very helpful post! Is it possible to register a domain even if you don’t plan on using it immediately? Basically just ensuring that you get the domain name that you want (if possible). Also, if I’m planning to blog on varying topics what would you recommend to do as far as a name? Do you think it’s imperative that the name coincides with the topic? I only ask because I’ve seen fashion/beauty blogs where their names have nothing to do with fashion or beauty. I’m sooo stuck on the name I can’t move to the next steps! Ugh!

Really excellent article. One suggestion or caution with Godaddy though…Godaddy has a product called WordPress Hosting. I signed up for it, and all was fine until I installed a plugin which had a special requirement that needed to be set up by the webhost. (something in the server side settings). I called Godaddy and they advised they can’t make those changes. Only on their individual hosting plans would that have been possible. This is a rare event, but worth keeping in mind. When you go for your own hosting you have more flexibility.

I’m sorry to hear you had such a bad experience. I don’t recommend GoDaddy for web hosting and only recommend Just Host for this tutorial as they have a good product for beginners at a great price

KenOctober 29, 2016 / 7:47 pm

This sounds a bit similar to my experience, however with a better ending. I accidentally signed up for their WordPress account only to discover I couldn’t do really anything else with the account. I wanted the full (cPanel) version. I called them up and they very graciously switched me at no charge. And, I can still do WordPress on my account.

edwardOctober 25, 2015 / 10:49 am

Impressive!!! Now I am more encouraged to start my own blog, Thanks.. Kudos!!!!

WordPress is the best option for anyone thinking about starting a blog. You need a self hosted WordPress to start a good blog. It will give you a strong base to do anything with your blog.
So anyone wanna start a new blog… forget about blogspot, tumblr etc just go with self hosted wordpress

It will cost you some money but not very much. Nowdays shared hosting is very cheap and I guess anyone can afford $5 per month.

Very good tips after starting my blog I read a few articles on layout and have found this has increased my page views and also has helped take my demographic into other countries I would not have thought to target.

If you dig in to my old posts I have covered lots of articles on starting and monetizing a blog.

-Jess

KelseyFebruary 26, 2016 / 12:42 pm

Hi Jessica, thanks for the advice! I have been setting up my blog over the last few days and written a few posts already. I’m really nervous to launch the site though so as of now only I have access to my blog. Did you wait until you had a good amount of material on your blog before publicizing it or did you start with one article and got more traffic as more material was added? Thanks!

I started out with just a blog post and an about me page. It is entirely up to you but it can often be a good idea to have a few posts when you start your blog so people can learn more about you and the topics you are covering. There is no right and wrong answer 🙂

The main thing is to start, that is the hardest step – don’t be nervous – practise makes perfect your first posts probably won’t be your greatest but only by regularly writing and promoting your blog will you grow your audience and become a better blogger.

Congratulations on taking the first steps!

-Jess

HarryMarch 10, 2016 / 4:29 am

Heres my suggestion: Before you start a blog, make sure you have some ideas what to write about. If you dont have any think about your hobbies or things youre passionate about. This helped me to find my niche/topic for my blog.

I just realized last week that I created a blog through WordPress. Then I saw this, and I was like “I made the right decision” ☺ I’ve been seeing people using blogspot. But I think WordPress is more sophisticated. Thank you! Very helpful.

I really want to start my own blog and earn money from it. And everyone I know just recommended me to use WordPress. I know WordPress is a good one, but I heard Google Adsense wont work with it. Is it true? And if it’s true, is there any platform that as good as WordPress that’ll work with Google Adsense? Thank you.

Hey I’m thinking of starting a blog about my life as my parents are divorcing and hope to help kids in the same situation as I am to deal with it, this article cleared everything up for me and I’m looking forward to starting blogging in 2016.

hey i actaully have 2 questions about starting a blog..1. is that if i just have a free blog on WordPress, and my blog is owned by them, will i still get money for it?? 2. i already made a free WordPress blog, but in case of any mind changes can i switch to a hosting company while still keeping the page i have already made? or would i have to start all over again?

1. You can keep the money however you’ll be restricted to the types of products you can promote as WordPress.com are particular about the ad networks and affiliate offers open to you.

2. You can migrate to a self hosted blog later on but if you don’t have your own custom domain name then you’ll lose the traffic you have built up. A domain name is going to cost you $15 from WordPress.com whilst a domain name + 1 years hosting at Just Host is around $27 for the sake of around $12 I think it makes sense to start off totally in control.

DebApril 13, 2016 / 8:55 pm

Great info, thanks! Got our self-hosted site up and running on WordPress but just have trouble coming up with things to write about 🙁

Im currently interested on starting a blog and Im wondering if it is possible to blog on a smartphone? Since I cant always carry a laptop around and most of the time ideas and inspirations just pop-up from unexpected places and I dont want to waste the feelings and emotions that I wanted to express on my writings just because I cant conveniently start from where I am

Absolutely there are apps for managing WordPress blogs on phones and tablets.

Regards

-Jess

EdmondApril 25, 2016 / 5:39 am

Hey, thanks for the great post. When it comes to free blogging platforms, some they will allow you to use your domain. The problem is that some they will not allow you to monetize your blog and they can delete your blog without any valid reason.

Hi Jessica
I found your tips really helpful but I have one question I live in the UK I would love to start blogging but is it possible to open blog in the UK and able to convert the language and menus in to polish ? Or do I have to open it the polish language? 😄

WordPress is multi-lingual so no issues there. As for opening a blog in the UK as long as you have a credit card and UK address then you can sign up with Just Host
Jess

MagdalenaApril 25, 2016 / 1:41 pm

Hi Jessica
I found your tips very good 😄
I have one question I would like to start blogging I live in the UK at the moment but is it possible to open blog in here and then have the capability to convert it to another language ? Or do I have to do a separate blog in a different language
Thanks 😄
Magdalena

Thank you Jessica for the information. I’ve read just about all of your blog posts and they have helped me, someone that loves using tech but not so tech savvy when it comes to building a blog. You made it easy right from the start and as I was thinking of questions they were being answered as I read a little more. Thanks again. (if you go to my web page it’s still in demo mode until I have enough material to begin!)

This is very helpful. I have a question.. I’ve had a family blog on Blogger for years.. if I switch to WordPress..is there any way to convert the data? Or is there any other idea to capture the original data. I’m worried now since it’s not a custom self-hosted blog. Thanks!!

Please follow my guide… there is no need to visit WordPress at all this process is conducted with Just Host

Jess

Larson HeinonenMay 1, 2016 / 9:28 am

I would like an response anyone, preferably from the author. I used to write a Blog and would like to start again. My previous Blog was hosted by WordPress. I was paying about 29.00 dollars a year for many years, but all of a sudden it jumped to about 150.00 a year. I tried contacting WordPress about this unexplained huge increase, but they chose not to respond. Since you recommend using WordPress, how can you assure me they will honour their promises, and when they don’t, what can I do?

WordPress is free open source software – you are referring to your web hosting company. Web hosts will inform you of any charges in advance and it is very easy to move to a new host. Some web hosts offer free transfers if you sign up for a contract of 12 months or more. The other thing to do to avoid sudden price hikes is pay for 36 months rather than 12.

Jess

LunaMay 8, 2016 / 10:06 am

I want to start a blog, but I can’t pay for a domain, so I thought I would use tumblr. Now I love tumblr, but I don’t think that is the best option for a blog cause the url will be myblog.tumblr.com and it just dosen’t look strong enough. So any suggestions?

Hey!
I have already got a blog set up and I have just got it how I want it on blogger. However, I would like to take it further and maybe gain a higher following. I would like to get my own domain but I don’t want to loose my posts and content. Suggestions? Thankyou so much X

Not essential. However you will need to make some efforts to backup and protect your blog, however there are dozens of free plugins these days.

NadiaJuly 13, 2016 / 12:50 pm

Hi thanks for all your help! So I have a question. I want to make a blog but I want it be self hosted. Do I make it on WordPress first then get into Just Host or do I sign up with hosting and then connect it to WordPress? I was a little confused when you was talking about that. Thanks

I always encourage my friends to look at WPengine for hosting, its a bit more pricey but is really stable and reliable, plus they include tons of goodies that are usually considered a premium service and they all work without a struggle. Thinks like a CDN, Backups, Offload to S3. All these things can really help the quality and consistency of your site and are definitely something to think about whether you are a beginner or an advanced blogger.

WP Engine is a superb prospect however you’re looking at $29p/m for their most basic package. This is way out of the reach of most of my readers. This article is aimed at people who are just taking their first baby steps into blogging, and aren’t yet at a level of knowledge or income to justify something that costs over $300 per year. In comparison the hosting I recommend costs around $72 for 3 years and includes a free domain name in year one.

I’ve recommended a variety of blog hosts to my readers but premium managed hosting solutions aren’t what people want yet.

Jess

Abilio RodriguezJuly 21, 2016 / 3:36 pm

This is a lot of great information. I was a bit overwhelmed about all the different ways in which to start a blog but am feeling more confident now. Thanks for this! Looking forward to starting my blog soon.

Will it be possible to set up a blog where comments cannot be posted and emails cannot be sent to me? My only interest in blogging at this time is for a limited number of friends and family. I don’t want to deal with comments and such from random visitors.

Just wanted to tell you that my wife and I went with your advice and signed up with Just Host. so far so good and now we’re on our way to setting up our homeschooling blog. thanks for sharing we’ll be frequenting this site for more knowledge in the future.

Congratulations on taking the first steps with your blog. Good luck with it!

Jess

PazAugust 3, 2016 / 10:22 am

Hi Jessica!
first of all thank you, you’ve made it so clear!
I’ve got one question though:
what if I already have a web domain (I bought it from WordPress)
plus I already have a portfolio/blog site on WordPress for School purpose,(which I didn’t pay for by the way)
as I’m a Multimedia Designer.
is it Possible to open ANOTHER blog with my domain on WordPress as you recommended?
I’d love to have a another one apart from school and I Was wondering if that would be possible
without paying again, even though I’d like to have the full control on it.
Thanks in advance and have a nice day! 🙂

You can use any hosting company you want as long as they offer PHP or WordPress hosting.

This start a blog tutorial highlights Just Host as I find they are very cheap for complete beginners to test the water with.

Gary CampbellAugust 8, 2016 / 6:03 am

I have to agree with you and also put some emphasis on uniqueness. The most successful blogs today are definitely those that have an individual personal twist. People love new content and the more unique the likelihood that it will be shared more and draw in more people.

Absolutely agree with you Gary. Be Unique, be yourself – I often find it easier when I sit down to blog to think about writing for one person.

Sometimes that can be a reader who has sent me a question, other times I might think of a friend or family member who needs some help.

Melissa MAugust 18, 2016 / 4:54 am

Wonderful post! Thanks for sharing. I’m blogging about healthy food. I’ve been trying put traffic to my newly blog for months into no avail. The only thing that get me from stale mate point is that I’ve performed some serious keyword expansion. I’ve got help from support guys from the SEO tool I’ve been using. Now I know how to rank well for as many relevant keywords as possible and it did miracles to by blog. The tool calls SERPstat and the guy were awesome. Thanks for this post. And huge thanks for the guys who helped me. I’m starting to believe that if you put efforts into something, the universe will oblige)

Heres my suggestion: Before you start a blog, make sure you have some ideas what to write about. If you dont have any think about your hobbies or things youre passionate about. This helped me to find my niche/topic for my blog.

Hi Sue,
Try pixabay.com, they have a good range of freebies to get you going, try also, as a newbie, keyword research, this will be critical to your early success, no matter what you want to talk about, there’s a ton of video’s online, worth investing some time before you get going!

Lee

Randy J.September 3, 2016 / 4:32 am

Great article, yes I do agree that WordPress.org (self-hosted) is the best methods to start a blog and website these days. It has darn near become industry standard. Heck, you have major corporations transferring their sites over to WordPress. The reputation, flexibility, capability, tools and ease-of-use that it offers makes it a winner!

I recently hit my 5 year anniversary at my current job it got me thinking about what I actually want to be doing with my life. I’ve flirted with the idea of starting a blog for a few years, but it’s scary! You mentioned that not only is blogging a great way to communicate, it can also help you to become a better person and a better writer. I love a good opportunity to better myself, and I think I might have to give it a try!

Hi! I honestly love to start a blog because almost everyone in my school already doing it and I’m feeling out of place but I’m thinking if it’s too late to start up cause I don’t want to stress up myself anymoree

Hi! I honestly love to start a blog because almost everyone in my school already doing it and Im feeling out of place but Im thinking if its too late to start up cause I dont want to stress up myself anymore

VictorineFebruary 18, 2017 / 6:13 pm

I blog on WordPress I’m amazed at the talent for writing, read some amazing pieces

I love to write! I usually write my thoughts in a journal or I doodle to entertain myself at any time.
I just recently Retired from my job and I think it would be fun to start my own blog! I guess I would say it is on the top of my Bucket List ! 🙂
I am now at the point of ..”So now what?” What will I blog about? I am with you Samantha, it’s Scary! but I want to do it!

I think the best thing is to think about what works for you and your audience. If you are happy to invest the time then coaching and your own info products can be highly lucrative. As can affiliate marketing.

Jess

PaulineMarch 17, 2017 / 5:23 am

Hi Jessica, this article gives me hope that I can start a blog. I’ve started the biggest journey of my life of taking my health back. I felt it would be great to track all of this with pictures, videos and articles.
You’ve answered some great questions and attached a good article about the different pros and cons of which company to use. When I actually sit down to start, I will likely have questions to ask.
Thanks so much.
Blessings, Pauline

Great article about blogging. This is very helpful. I have been blogging about fashion for my Apparel Search website for many years, but have not received much traction for the efforts. Hopefully your suggestions will be of help. Even though I post often and I think with helpful information for people interesting in clothing, I don’t seem to gain any followers. After several years, I have people reading the blogs, but no followers and not many people posting comments. Rather frustrating, but I will continue my efforts. Anyway, thank you for your post and hopefully it helps me and others improve our blogging.

Great post, blogging is hard. We run a travel blog and I think the most important thing we tell people is to travel with a purpose, Do not just wander around the world aimlessly. (Like ours is to experience and document the Top 100 Travel Adventures) So many travel blogs do not really have a purpose or a niche. Niche is key and many miss out on that because they want to cover and do it all. Do not just start a blog because you think you will get rich quick and be able to travel the world. It takes a lot of work and lots of time.

I am a newbie, which explains why I am here. Do you think it is a good idea to start with a blogger host using the free domain they offer before purchasing a domain of your own to ensure you have what it takes to gain a decent following and that you are up for the task of maintaining a good blog?

No – you need your own domain. Moving blogs later will be very hard to do.

PaulDecember 17, 2017 / 8:03 am

Hi Jessica!

Starting a blog is the start of opening new opportunities online. It may not be easy because crafting a blog’s content is challenging with all the the writing original and personalize content but in the end it is worth the hard work.

Wow, I thought everything was going to be much more difficult before I started my research this morning.

I’m so pleased I selected your tutorial first. I am currently supporting our corporate instructional design team by assisting with quality review of training materials being developed for a number of large corporate clients. I know instructional design and find your writing and organization of content top notch!

I will be a constant visitor as I begin to set up my personal blog. I plan to launch next month as part of a fresh start to the new year.

Hi Jess, I already own a free hosted blog on wordpress because as a student I don’t really have enough money to get self hosting due to the yearly payment. right now I can’t activate Adsense and it’s being restrictive.
I really want my blog to stand alone.

Thanks so much for this article and all of the links! I’ve been thinking about blogging for the past year. This year I started my Instagram page and just this week joined Twitter and Facebook as a means of (hopefully) expanding once the blog is underway. My first dilemma however, is the name! For the past four months, I have been @travelsandtantrums on IG (and the other platforms) however, I am thinking of changing that name as it began as a way of documenting our big family trip this year – I hadn’t counted on growth (as you talk about in your articles). Also, as our kids grow up, I hope that the ‘tantrums’ will subside – so, I don’t know whether to stick with what I have or to change to a more ‘family/reality’ name. It is catchy but is it relevant if we are not ‘travelling’ all the time? Hmmmmm. I’d love to know what you think!

The most important thing is choosing a name you’re going to be happy with for the next 3 years at least.

Blogs always evolve over time some of my first blogs didn’t really stick to a small set of topics after a while but it’s better to show expertise and experience in one area to begin with.

Jess

Hafiz KhanDecember 30, 2017 / 4:15 am

Hey Jess,
Thanks for this post. Its really helpful and makes me wanna start blogging. In fact, I will be starting it soon(though its a bit late since 2018 is near lol). But thanks for you post. Its superly encourage me to start soon.

Nice beginner-friendly guide. I would add a quick tip for those who are starting their blogs.

Many bloggers spend a lot of time looking for “the best” theme and later invest even more time in its customisation. Sure, there is nothing bad about having a nice design. But…

As the majority of them are not full time bloggers, every hour more spent on the designing of the blog means one hour less for creating the content. And, using the chess terminology, if the content is king (and quality backlinks queen), the blog design is only bishop.

I always recommend to the newbies start to publish their articles as soon as possible and not spend more than 20% of the time with other tasks. Why?

Because even an ugly blog with great content can be successful. But nice blog without good content will never attract new visitors.

Hi Jessica,
I am a writer (freelance) of print production, which as we all know, is going the way of the dinosaurs. While your tutorial was helpful, I am a dinosaur. Please send me one link (I will pay a fee, if reasonable, but I only want to pay one fee…and this tutorial leads me (I am sure, incorrectly), to believe I must pay this and that for a domain , host, etc.
I know exactly what content I want to do. Please send me one link. Thanks!

Thank you very much for this amazing guide. Sorry, I have not been able to come back to appreciate your good work.

I can remember vividly that I visited this blog for guide when I wanted to start “Entrepreneur Business Blog,” in 2016. Today, we generate over $1000 and we’ve been able to build another blog from there and set up a digital marketing firm.

I wish I have a better way to forward my testimonial so as to motivate someone else.

Now you can choose micro blogging to start. You can take information through youtube on micro blogging.

balramSeptember 27, 2018 / 3:56 am

Great article, Jessica. Love the way you write. Working my way through your article links,
We run a travel blog and I think the most important thing we tell people is to travel with a purpose, Do not just wander around the world aimlessly.

Hi Jessica,
Thank you for your tips. I’ve been thinking about starting a blog but didnt know how.
Briefly read your tips and rightaway I started one. Not too sure if it’s a great idea for me as I hv a fulltime job.
Nway, pls take a look at the site I’ve created, published my first very simple column and do feel free to share any DOs, DONTs, IMPROVEs for the site.

Such a useful content! I love when people like you make learning easier for other people. Just like you, I’m also working on my blog to teach people about making money online. I will definitely link this article in my posts.